one queen, two princesses, & their jesters

This kid has gone from a few simple words back in July and August (and some *slight* concern on our part about her lack of talking compared to where Maggie was at just-before-two) to telling stories, joking around, and talking in more complete thoughts and sentences than I think Maggie did at 2 1/2. Amazing.

—

Potty training is… well it’s not really happening, that’s what it is. We were doing a few days here and there in underpants when we were home all day (which is RARE) and she had some moderate success with using the bathroom (but also some puddles. heh) Then she broke her foot and was in the boot and no way was I putting her in underwear so she could pee down her leg and soak the cloth on that thing. So for the past month, it’s been all diapers, all the time. And it likely will be this way for a while because I’m not potty training a 2 year old while I have a newborn. NO THANK YOU.

But! They do take the kids to bathroom at daycare a few times a day (her daily report will say ‘attempt’ or ‘success’) So she’s at least getting a little bit of exposure to the whole idea. And they must all listen for the sound of the pee hitting the water, because if she hears Maggie or me going to the bathroom, she’ll say in a cute little sing-songy voice: “I hear a tinkle!”

—

We’ve called this poor kid all sorts of ridiculous nicknames since she was a baby. Stinky, Chubster, Stinky Pete, Poopy Poopy. (I know. We’re mature. Yup.) Most of the time now she’s just Audrey, but she must know that these nicknames were hers. Lately she’ll call Dan by one of them and it is HILARIOUS. She’ll look at him after dinner and say “I’m all done, Poopy Poopy!” and grin like crazy.

—

She’s in the traditional toddler/two-year-old Obsessed With Bandaids phase. She even made me put one on her nose one day when she hit it on something (then quickly realized it was hindering her breathing and made me take it off. I TOLD YOU IT WOULDN’T WORK, CHILD.)

—

She’ll come over to me and whisper, “Mommy, I haffa tell you sumpin!” Sometimes there’s nothing she really has to tell me. Sometimes it’s the word POOPY. (Are you sensing a theme?)

—

She calls polkdots “co-co-butts”. Nobody better ever correct that.

—

She mis-uses the word ‘because’ in place of ‘but’. If she asks for something and we say no: *whining* “Because I WAAAAN IT!”

—

Maggie has always been less affectionate and snuggly than a lot of kids, not one to show her love outright (she’d rather draw me a picture than give me a hug, for example) And that’s totally okay! That’s just how she is! (a lot like her daddy, actually.) But Audrey? She’s a snuggler. She’ll give a hug or a kiss if asked, and she’ll randomly come over to me and hug my belly: “I give baby a suggle!” And then my heart melts into a puddle.

—

She’s a movie buff. First thing in the morning: “I stay home today? In my jammies? Watch a movie?” Her favorites are Brave (“Bwave”), Tangled (“Wapunzel”), The Polar Express (“the twain movie”), and Nemo (“Nee-no”). And she will usually sit and watch the whole thing intently, and when it’s over, she turns off the tv. LIKE SHE’S A PERSON OR SOMETHING.

—

She thinks Maggie is the best thing on the PLANET. Sure, they fight and drive each other (AND US!) crazy sometimes, but things have been pretty good lately. I think Audrey is finally starting to get better at actual PLAYING and is usually game for going along with whatever make-believe story Maggie wants to act out (“Audrey, you’re the cat and I’m the mom!” *cue Audrey crawling around on the floor, meowing*) This makes Maggie very happy and Audrey is just happy that Maggie is including her.

It makes having that second kid worth ALL the hard moments in those early months. I love that they have each other.